Krayzelburg Earns Return Trip to Olympics

10 July 2004
By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer

Article originally located at Yahoo! News

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Lenny Krayzelburg is going back to the Olympics to defend his 100-meter backstroke gold medal. Whether or not he wins in Athens isn't the point.

After undergoing two shoulder operations since Sydney and pain that endures, Krayzelburg feels fortunate he can still swim fast.

"I love doing this," he said, a smile on his tanned, freckled face and a sparkle in eyes that matched the azure pool water.

At Sydney, he swept both Olympic backstroke events and swam the opening leg of the world record-breaking 400 medley relay. Three races, three golds.

"Four years ago, things came a lot easier," he said. "I was the favorite and I dominated."

At these U.S. Olympic trials, the golden expectations rest on the shoulders of 20-year-old Aaron Peirsol, runner-up to Krayzelburg in the 200 back in 2000. Despite the eight-year age difference, the two swimmers are friendly rivals who sometimes dine together.

Peirsol was a high school star in Irvine while Krayzelburg was making a name at Southern California. "Lenny was always a huge influence on me," he said. "He's kind of shown me the ropes."

Krayzelburg's graciousness extends to everyone who crosses his path. After Peirsol won the 100 back and Krayzelburg took second — just a tenth of a second from missing a spot on the team — the two shared a watery embrace.

Krayzelburg could hardly move around the pool deck without someone coming up to offer congratulations or give him a hug.

"I was jumping up and down," said Lindsay Benko, who swam with Krayzelburg when both attended USC. "I got more nervous for him than myself. He has a great story and he's just an all-around great guy."

His coach, Dave Salo, walked up behind Krayzelburg, grabbed him in a bear hug and said, "You were awesome, man!"

Krayzelburg's response?

"It's humbling," he said. "I appreciate all the support."

Count Michael Phelps among Krayzelburg's fan club. They were teammates four years ago, when Phelps was the youngest man on the Olympic team.

"I was sitting there cheering for him all the way," Phelps said. "He was one of the guys I looked at in Sydney to see how he prepared and handled the environment."

Krayzelburg is the ultimate American success story, having emigrated to Los Angeles from Odessa, Ukraine, with his parents and sister in 1989.

His father, Oleg, signed Lenny up with a swim club in Santa Monica. But Lenny grew tired of the daily 45-minute bus ride and eight-block walk to get to the pool, on top of working an after-school job and taking English lessons.

He wanted to quit. Oleg wouldn't let him. They found a pool closer to home and Lenny worked there as a lifeguard.

Sacrifice was expected in the Krayzelburg household, where Oleg was a no-nonsense disciplinarian. Eventually, Lenny learned flawless English (although he still speaks Russian daily with his family) and earned a swimming scholarship to USC, where he received a finance degree.

After Athens, Krayzelburg wants to focus on real estate development and a mortgage company he started. He's also going to fulfill his vision of marrying a Russian, having believed an American woman might be too independent.

Oleg is a familiar sight in the stands at the U.S. trials. He cheered and banged a blue tambourine the night his only son made another Olympic team.

Things weren't so bright in 2001, when Krayzelburg first had shoulder trouble. Eventually, surgery was required on both shoulders. Having grown tired of swimming thousands of meters a day at USC, Krayzelburg switched to Peirsol's old coach in September.

"He didn't have a whole lot of confidence the first couple of months he joined our program," Salo said. "I was just hoping all the experience he put in the last nine, 10 years of his career would come through and it did. I believed he could be there."

So did Krayzelburg.

"I just stuck with it, believed and it happened," he said. "This is such a sweet feeling."